


Hollow Bones

by SentientSucculents



Series: Ereri Merfics - Oceans Away [3]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: A lot of dick jokes, Alternate Universe, Biologist Hanji, Breaking Waves, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Character's Name Spelled as Jaeger, Eren Is The King Of Bad Chioces, Everyone Is Gay, Fish dick, Fluff, Human Armin, Human!Eren, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin) is a Softie, M/M, Mer!Levi, Merman Erwin, Merman Levi - freeform, Not Canon Compliant, Oceans Away Series, Oceans away, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Smut, Stereotypes, Surfer Eren, THESE TAGS WILL BE UPDATED, This fic will probably be super messy, a lot of fluff, also, eren x levi - Freeform, ereri, he also sucks at making friends, levi x eren - Freeform, mermaid au, merman au, merman levi, my bad - Freeform, riren - Freeform, so many dick jokes, stereotypical and cliche, there will be smut, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2018-11-04 15:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10994223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentientSucculents/pseuds/SentientSucculents
Summary: *Title due to change*In the third feature to SammActuallyHatesYou 's ' Oceans Away' series, we see our boys Levi and Ere reunited, but not in the way you would come to expect.Update - Please read either Breaking Waves or Oceans Away - or both ;) - before readin this one, or not a lot will make sense!+++++++++++++++When Eren was sixteen, he fell in love. At seventeen, he had come to realize it. At eighteen, his love came back.At eighteen years old, Eren Jaeger became the owner of the small house on the beach where had had lived for years with his sister. At eighteen years old, Eren Jaeger was left to his own devices. At eighteen years old, Eren Jaeger had all but lost the last bit of family he had left.Eighteen years old, and his whole world was flipped upside down and uprooted entirely.*Summary and titles due to change*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Corporal_Levi_cleans_my_house](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corporal_Levi_cleans_my_house/gifts).



> PLEASE NOTE - this is part of a series that is meant to be read in order. The links for the first installments are already up on my account and they will all be grouped into a series. This won't make sense in some places without reading either Breaking Waves or Oceans Away first. But, if you're willing to endure a bit of confusion that might be eventually explained, then go ahead :) please, please give me feedback! I live for comments, and desperately need a bit of critiquing so I can improve x

Eren fought tooth and nail to stay. For months and months, he fought with everything he had,every argument, every statement, every cent he had to spare, until he was eighteen.

Only then did the fighting stop.

At eighteen years old, Eren Jaeger became the owner of the small house on the beach where had had lived for years with his sister. At eighteen years old, Eren Jaeger was left to his own devices. At eighteen years old, Eren Jaeger had all but lost the last bit of family he had left.

 

* * *

 

 

Mikasa had fought just as hard as Eren to move away from that tiny beach home, but her brother was adamant, and she knew she wouldn’t get her way. Didn’t stop her from trying, at any rate. So when the letter came telling of her acceptance into a university to study abroad, she was fully prepared to turn it down.

“Mikasa, no.”

“Eren, don’t be dumb. Hear me out -”

“No, forget it, I know _exactly_ what’s about to come out of your mouth and I’m telling you that a, I don’t want to hear it, and b, you’re not allowed to, be damned what you think.”

The older woman was quiet for a few moments, her eyes stormy and grey. Eren took a deep breath, swept his hair out of his eyes, and continued.

“I turn eighteen in two weeks. Legal age to live on my own. Hell, I could let a friend board here. But you - you’re _twenty-three_ this year, and you still haven’t started university, all because of me. I’m not about to let you put it off another year, ‘Kasa.”

Both of them were quiet, and Mikasa sat down at the kitchen table with a slump in her shoulders. “I can’t just leave you alone here, Eren, you should know that by now. You’re still in highschool, for christ’s sake, you only just got a part-time job settled - “ Eren exploded over the top of her.

“This isn’t about _me!_ ”

The raven was stunned into silence. Eren’s breath shook as he sighed and he slowly sat down opposite his sister. “This… isn’t about me. You’ve always made it about me, but when are you going to start thinking of yourself?” He asked, his voice pained as he reached up and carded a trembling hand through his hair. “Your life is already going down the drain, and what for? I’m safe here. A secure education, a secure job, and as soon as I graduate I’m being promoted to a full time job.”

Mikasa glanced up in surprise at that, Eren looking away guiltily. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but..”

With a gentle sigh the young woman stood up, her face as passive as ever as she leaned down and hugged the younger man. He leaned into her touch, of course, but his shoulders were stiff. “I’m proud of you, Eren. Mum would be too.”

Clearly that wasn’t the reaction he was expecting, and his shoulders dropped in surprise. “I’ll go to university. I’ll finish my courses. I’ll sign the house over to you. Just promise me you’ll look after yourself.”

The brunet nodded slowly, looping his arms around Mikasa’s neck and hugging her tighter. “I promise.”

 

* * *

 

 

That was that. Mikasa moved out, on her way to England, Jean Kirstein and Armin Arlet moved in, Eren turned eighteen, graduated, and all was well.   

And then it was all flipped upside down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a mess, an absolute mess, a total rollercoaster of self-indulgent bullshit. Alas, it's only just over 2,000 words, but I'm working on making them longer.  
> I do apologise for this mess.  
> *unedited, unbetad it's not very smooth,, I just threw a whole bunch of ideas into one chapter and I don't regret it. I'll probably end up re-writing it though. I just can't get it to work properly.

The familiar roar of Hanji’s old boat engine was as clear as whalesong for Levi as he floated lazily on his back, his pale stomach bared to the sun as his tail moved slowly to keep him afloat. As soon as he heard it he righted himself, pushing his torso out of the water with powerful strokes of his tail to see if he could spot the boat. A lazy grin full of sharp teeth split his face and the  _ Maria  _ sped towards him, a blurry figure waving madly when he threw his hands in the air. Erwin hadn’t been around for the last few months, which wasn’t all that unusual, but it still left Levi feeling a little lonely. 

 

“Leviiiiiiiiii!” 

 

The shadowy merman trilled excitedly at the familiar scream of his name, clicking happily and diving in and out of the water as the boat neared. The engine cut off and he dived under the surface, waiting for a hunk of metal to fall into the water. When it did, he grabbed a hold of it and powered to the sea floor, wedging it between rocks and underneath sand before turning tail and swimming almost clumsily back to the surface. Instead of stopping there, however, he launched himself upwards, sprawling across the board Hanji had laid out and scrabbling to get inside the boat and greet his humans. Hanji yelped loudly. 

 

His sudden entrance hadn’t stopped her from throwing her arms around him though. Levi chirped in surprise but nuzzled his face into her neck, running sharp-tipped fingers through her ponytail and prodding at her soft cheeks with careful fingertips 

 

“Hanji.” he hummed, pulling away and righting himself on the boat floor. He smiled up at the brunette. “Missed you.” 

 

“Aw, Levi-baby, I missed you too!” Hanji cood back, rocking on her heels excitedly. “Now, I have a few things to show you. Also, Mike isn’t here.” Levi pouted a little at that, hoping to see the towering blonde man, but he shook it  off fast. 

 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” 

 

Hanji darted towards the cabin, hitting a switch beside the control panel. “So, I was thinking about how you mentioned staying out of the water for too long tended to dry out your skin, so I made a few little adjustments to our lovely  _ Maria _ .” Levi scrambled backwards as machinery whirred but then a panel started to slid open in the middle of the boat floor, only a few feet wide, but at least five foot deep. Water flooded through the sides and Levi looked down curiously, watching as a metal cylinder slid from the bottom of the boat and trapped the water, creating a little pool. Levi crooned, intrigued. 

 

“I didn’t want to sink the poor thing, so I could only make it little, but I compensated for that tail or yours and made it wide enough for you the curl up comfortably.” Hanji explained. “When we don’t need it, it opens at the bottom and slowly folds up so we don’t trap any of the water, and then the panel shuts and wa-la! Gone.” Levi gave  few excited clicks and slid forwards cautiously, dipping his hand into the water and splashing it  little. After deeming it safe he shuffled forward and Hanji helped him slid his tail in first, leaving his upper chest and shoulders out of the water whilst the rest of him stayed hydrated. He tugged Hanji down by the shirt and nsed her forehead in a symbol of affection. 

 

“Thank you, Hanji.” He hummed, and she only laughed in reply. 

 

“Now, don’t freak out, but I want you to meet someone.” She started, and Levi perked up. It was only then that he noticed an unfamiliar scent hovering over the boat, lip curling but eyes bright with curiosity. 

 

“Hey Moblit, could you come out?” Hanji called, and Levi’s ears flickered. A nervous-looking man with scruffy hair tripped on his way out of the cabin and hurriedly stood back up, looking sheepishly at the affronted merman. 

 

“Hi.” ‘Moblit’ greeted, and Levi dipped his head, but didn’t break eye contact. His hand lifted and he curled one finger in a come hither motion, and the man stepped forward and crouched. 

 

Levi snatched his shoulders and pulled him closer, ignoring the scared cry in favour of scenting the stranger. His eyes narrowed and he crowed almost triumphantly, crawling out of the tiny pool and pulling Hanji down to her knees. She let out a small sound but otherwise didn’t protest, even when Levi shoved his nose excitedly against her abdomen. Hanji pushed at his pale grey shoulders half-heartedly, laughing in confusion. “What the hell are you doing, Levi?” 

 

The raven had been reduced to his own language in excitement, still crooning as he leaned away. He rolled his eyes at their confused expressions, reaching to cup Hanji’s hips again and purring loudly as he glanced at Moblit. Hanji’s face went blank and she sat back on her heels, one hand moving to rest on her belly. 

 

“Oh.”

 

The sound was barely audible, barely breathed out, and Moblit still looked between them in confusion “Han- Hanji?”

 

“Moblit, I think I’m - “ She glanced at Levi again, who was purring contentedly from where he was curled back up in his pool. “Levi thinks I’m… pregnant.” Levi purred again, and Moblit rocked on his feet, his face blank and eyes wide. 

 

“....Oh.” 

 

The merman crooned again, smiling and looking rather pleased while Hanji and Moblit stared at each other. “Hanji-”

 

“You smell like Irvin.” Levi rumbled, looking curiously up at the brunet woman while the man ran his fingers through his hair, looking decidedly distraught. Hanji sank into a sitting pose and took a deep breath. 

 

“Irvin means Erwin, doesn’t it.” She stated, not quite asking a question but rather talking to herself. Levi nodded curiously, prodding absentmindedly at Hanji’s feet. The brunet buried her face in her hands and Levi looked up in alarm, pawing at her elbow. 

 

“Why do you smell like Erwin? I thought I was the only one you know. Maybe scents are just too close…” Hanji started to shake her head, and when She pulled her hands away, Levi noticed that her eyes were wet and her cheeks were pink. 

 

“I never explained to you, Levi, I apologise. I was looking for you a few weeks early during your season, and Erwin found me when I was diving - what a coincidence - but he’s - my mate. He has been for years and years. Almost eighteen now.” She struggled to get out, her voice thick with emotion, Levi’s tail started to stir restlessly under the water and he stiffened, slinking forwards slightly. “How - didn’t I notice before? He would leave for weeks at a time and I never asked, but I had a feeling…. Geez Why didn’t you say something? “

“It was… Awkward. I didn’t want to, i don’t know, end up offending you or anything, even when you started moping over that Eren boy.” 

 

Levi glanced at Moblit, who looked a little green in the face, probably from imagining something he shouldn’t of. “Does Irvin know?”

 

“Er _ win. _ No, I don’t think he does.  He - hasn’t seen my young boy, either.”

 

Both Moblit and Levi almost choked. “You have  _ another  _ one?” 

 

Hanji laughed, taking off her glasses and clean them on her shirt. “Yes, I do. He’ been living with his grnpda ever since he was little, because I was young when I had him, but I never worked up the courage to see him. I mean, how does one explain to a kid that their father is a fish?” Levi looked offended, and Hanji smiled at him apologetically. “You know what I mean. It’s difficult. I miss my little coconut with all of my heart, but I think I have left it too long to be a mother figure for him.” 

 

Levi stared at her incredulously. “Hanji,” he surged forward, grasping at her hands urgently. “It is  _ never _ too late to be a mother.” He almost spat the words out, syllables tumbling messily from his mouth. “You find Erwin, you  _ go  _ to your  _ mate _ , and you tell him of your pup. Of both of them. You find your eldest and you take Erwin to him.”

 

He wriggled uncomfortably in the sun and let himself slide back into the makeshift pool of water, his eyes never leaving Hanji’s wide gaze. The woman barely managed to reply with her breath catching. “...Okay.” 

 

____________________________

 

After that, Hanji seemed to shake off the news and Moblit fretted unnecessarily, much to Levi’s amusement. This new friend of Hanji’s was more nervous and more talkative than Mike, though seemed more able to calm down the biologist whenever she got a little too worked up. Levi, as always, was poked and prodded at, while reciting stories as best he could about new scars or wounds. One particularly messy gash across his shoulder blades was still shy of fully healed, so Hanji paid rapt attention to that story and even pulled out her medics kit. Levi wrinkled his nose however, and bared his teeth in repulsion at the strong-smelling medicines. 

 

Then Hanji brought up Eren again. 

 

Levi quickly spiralled into a moody demeanor as soon as she asked about him, his bottom lip pushing into a pout and brow furrowing together. “I don’t know.” He replied softly to her asking about his wellbeing. She tilted her head at him. 

 

“What do you mean, you don’t know? I thought you went to see him?”

 

“I… I couldn’t go. By the time I got to the cove three nights late, He’d already stopped coming.” Levi sighed, sinking until only his eyes were above the water. 

 

Hanji leaned forwards, eyes wide behind her murky glasses. “Well did you call for him? Have yu tried again? Don’t tell me you gave up, Levi!” She cried out, and Levi flinched a little. 

 

“I figured he didn’t want to see me! He’s a landwalker, he probably had something more important to do, I don’t care.” He growled back, and Hanji had the nerve to whack him upside the head. 

 

“And you yelled at  _ me _ for negative thinking. That’s bullshit and you know it. You think he’s forgotten about you, don’t you?” 

 

Levi scowled at her and sank again into the body of water completely, rolling his eyes and huffing a cloud of bubbles. She stared at him until he reappeared. 

“I miss him.” The raven eventually mumbled. They left it at that.

__________________________________________________________

  
  


The next time they met was… Unusual. Hanji refused to speak a word about what she was doing and only babbled that Levi needed to follow her, so he swam beside the boat for miles until it finally stopped. He managed to drag himself onto the boat and his gills shut tight, forcing him to pant through his mouth insistently. He had swam four times that length before, but never without stopping. 

 

Hanji all but pounced on him, one hand holding a bread roll and the other stuffing food into her mouth. 

 

“Hey Levi,” she started, grinning unashamedly as Levi grimaced, “what would you say if I could give you legs?”

 

Levi forgot about the disgusting sight of Hanji speaking with her mouth full of food in favour of trying to get his ears to stop ringing. “.... _ Legs?” _

 

“Legs.”

 

“You can give me… Legs. That’s what you’re saying?”’

 

“That’s what I’m saying.”

 

Levi twisted his body until he could slid into his makeshift pool, staring up at Hanji, who was bouncing excitedly. “Well, it’s technically still in theory, but I have tested myself, and once I knew it was safe to consume I gave an axolotl fins, and I now own an angel fish that walks around the bottom of her aquarium. They were the genes that were closest to yours. I may need a touch of your magic to keep you safe, but - I can give you legs. I can’t turn you entirely human, but..” 

 

Levi snatched at her hand and pulled her to the bottom of the boat, pressing their foreheads together and purring. “I’ll do anything.” He mumbled, a grin slurring his words. “If it means I can go to my Eren, I will do anything.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji makes a big decision, Eren reflects on just how much he misses Levi. A little insight is given to repair some miscommunication, and Jean is sleeping throughout most of it. 
> 
> SO GUESS WHO GOT THEIR SHIT IN ORDER  
> not me, I'm ignoring my upcoming assignments because I'm really struggling right now, gotta love senior high school... anyway. have this somewhat good, definitely shitty update that's barely 3000 words. I promise I'm working on getting them longer! it's just switching between points of view that makes it a bit difficult, and also the fact I haven't written Eren/Levi properly ever since I fell headfirst into the Voltron fandom. so there's that.   
> authors survive off feedback and comments. DONT LET ME STARVE X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s no beta readers bc we die like men   
> just kidding  
> my only editor/beta is Grammarly bc i have no friends

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, Kirstein!” Eren bellowed from the kitchen. Armin was sitting at the bench with a lukewarm coffee clasped between his hands, silently surveying the wreckage that used to be the kitchen. Jean stumbled off the couch with a yawn. 

 

“What’d I do this time, O mighty one?” He replied, his words muffled behind his hand as he rubbed his cheek. Eren rolled his eyes and practically snarled out his next words. 

 

“You’re staying in  _ my _ house free of rent. Clean up  _ your shit.  _ I don’t care if you have a hangover, or if I sound like your damn mother, but if you want to stay here then you have to clear up after yourself. I’m not living with a pig.”

 

Eren was obviously furious, and Jean had the mind to look a little bit guilty, though still muttering under his breath. Armin stood, shuffling past the two to make another coffee. “Right. Now that I’m unnecessarily angry, I’m getting out of here. I’m heading to the beach, anyone wanna come with?” 

 

Armin perked up a little at that, sending a small smile towards Jean, who was slowly starting to clean up his mess of alcohol and pizza from the night before. “Sure, yea, give me half an hour and I’ll be right there.”

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

  
  


Eren hadn’t been to the beach for almost a week and a half now, so as soon as his feet hit the cool water he let out a soft sigh, then a whoop of delight when Armin and a surfboard dived right in beside him. Eren followed suit, smiling widely as he jogged a few meters until he couldn’t force his legs through the water any further and rolled onto his board, paddling eagerly after his friend. The empty ocean always sent a pang of loneliness through his gut nowadays, but he did his best to ignore it. The shell still hung around his neck, secure on its leather strap. 

 

He and Armin stopped talking for a while after that, lest swallow a faceful of salty ocean water. It wasn’t quite a perfect day - windy enough that sand was whipping along the beach and the waves were often double sets, but the sun was blazing, the wind was warm and the swell was pretty okay. He knew he’d spend most of the day in the water - he couldn't get much more tanned, to be honest - and he’d forgotten how much he missed the water and everything that resided in it. 

 

He missed Levi, most of all. Hadn’t seen the merman in almost a year, and he wondered if the creature even remembered him. He didn’t know how the raven’s mind worked, he barely knew anything at all, and he hated the thought of being forgotten. Eren shook his head, angling his board and diving underneath a wave. 

 

Armin had gone further out than him, and Eren surged forward to catch up with him. Armin had always seemed at home in the water, and quite literally - that boy could hold his breath for a record of 17 minutes. Mikasa thought he’d drowned when she checked Eren’s timer and had jumped in to save him from the swimming pool, so the two boys weren’t sure exactly how long he could hold his breath for just yet. They were working on it, at any rate. 

  
  


Almost an hour later they’d drifted back towards the beach, just barely hearing Jean’s call. Armin’s head whipped around and he waved to her on the beach, and only then did Eren hear. The two of them headed back, slipping off their boards when they reached waist-deep water. He looked… weird. His expression was off, his posture stiff and awkward, but his eyes were full of concern. 

  
  


“Jean. What’s up? You don’t usually come down to the beach after a night out.” That happened to be most nights, but Jean’s apprehension-filled face made Eren bite down on that comment. 

 

“There’s someone waiting at the house. I left them there, but I locked all the doors and shit. They’re asking for Armin, and I didn’t know what to do. They don’t look particularly threatening, so I didn’t call the police- but, um, they said not to? Something about a guy called Levi?” Jean squinted, watching Eren’s expression drop blank. “Ring any bells?” 

 

Eren started forwards, dropping his board on the dry sand away from the outgoing tide and running up the beach. Jean and Armin shouted behind him and he ignored them, feet pounding across the white sand and over the bank onto hard ground. The house was only a few hundred meters from the beach, but Eren sprinted until the house came into view. A woman was sitting on the swinging chair, looking a little curled up and anxious. 

 

Eren skidded to a stop and wheezed for breath.  Once air wasn’t rasping painfully through his lungs he walked up the stairs to where the woman was standing up. “Who the fuck are you?”

 

The woman smiled. “Charmed! My name is Hanji, and I’m guessing… you’re Levi’s Eren, judging by the eyes.” She leaned forward, scrutinizing him through thin-rimmed glasses. He felt a little bit like he was stuck under a microscope, and he shifted uncomfortably. Her bangs were messy and a bit frizzy, and she smoothed down her shirt before sticking her hand out in front of her. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” 

 

Eren looked at her hand and it took a few too many moments of deliberation before he gathered himself out to shake her hand. “How do you know Levi? What’s he got to do with anything? Is he alright?” 

 

“Too many questions, kid. Levi’s fine. Who do you think taught him to speak?” Hanji grinned, waving off his questions with a warm smile. “But, I’m not here for Levi. How much do your friends know?” 

 

“Armin, who isn’t here yet, he knows almost everything. I kind of had to tell him after Levi started hissing at him. Jean, he was here before -- he knows nothing. He’s a bit of a dick when it comes to revealing secrets and whatever.” Eren shrugged, still confused. Hanji’s eyes flickered. 

 

“Well, he’s going to find out. Armin is the important one here.”

 

“Why? What’s he got to do with anything? I’m fairly sure his grandparents are too old to be merpeople.”

 

“That may be so, but his father isn’t.” Hanji had quietened, and Eren’s breath stuck in his throat. 

 

“...What do you mean?” 

 

“Armin’s father is one of the merfolk. One of Levi’s closest friends, which is how I came to be here. I’m… his mother, Eren, and I left him with his grandparents so he could assimilate into normal society. He has no idea and probably no memory of me.” 

 

Eren struggled to process it, but by the time he got his mouth working, he heard Jean’s voice. “So are we calling the police or nah?”

 

“Jean, go turn the coffee machine on and grab those biscuits we bought the other day. C’mon, Armin. We need to go inside.” Eren managed, keeping his voice steady. Hanji looked like she’d been slapped, and her knees shook when Armin walked up the stairs. He gave her an odd look but seeing that Eren was friendly with her, turned his expression into a beaming smile. The blond wandered inside, and Eren put a hand on Hanji’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. He’s got a cool head, but don’t throw everything on him all at once,  okay?” She nodded, shifted her glasses so she could wipe her eyes and compose herself. Eren couldn’t help but be skeptical, but judging by the unfamiliar bag that was sitting beside the swinging chair, she hadn’t come wholly unprepared, and he could only hope he was right by trusting her. 

 

Jean looked up when the two brunets walked in. “How do you take your coffee?” He asked Hanji, having already made Eren and himself one. They’d finally got around to getting good beans and a proper machine, so their coffee didn’t look - or taste - like dishwater anymore, but they were yet to perfect it. 

 

“Ah…. long black with one sugar? I’ll add milk myself if that’s okay.” 

 

“Yup.” Jean poured the long black and pushed a jug of foamed milk towards her, ushering her to sit down per Eren’s glare. Armin hovered in the doorway uncertainly. 

 

“Guys, this is Hanji. She’s… a friend of a Levi’s, Armin. Come on in here. You want tea?”

 

Armin shook his head and pulled up a seat at the kitchen table. “So what brings you here?” His brow was furrowed and He glared at Jean as he cut Hanji off before she could start. 

 

“So is someone going to tell me who Levi is or am I the only one totally in the dark here.” He asked; Armin sighed and Eren pursed his lips. 

 

“Levi is my big gay merman crush, Jean. I’ll explain later.” Jean threw his hands in the air and disappeared into the living room. 

 

Eren opted to sit beside Hanji, watching her leg bounce on the floor. The poor woman looked nerve-wracked, and Armin was growing increasingly concerned. “Do you remember anything before you were with your grandparents?” Hanji blurted curiously. Armin looked a little taken aback and shot a look at Eren, who only shrugged. 

 

“...Not really, ma’am. I was really little, I’ve been with them for as long as I can remember.” Armin played absentmindedly with a spoon Jean had left on the bench ad Hanji nodded slowly, glancing down and twisting her hands together. She took a deep breath, then another, and took her glasses off nervously. 

 

“Did they ever tell you why?” 

 

“No, ma’am. What’s this about?” 

 

Hanji’s voice shook as she spoke again. “It was what they thought was best for you - your father and your grandparents, that is. They wanted you to grow up normally, and with me around they didn’t think you could do that.” Her voice fell to a whisper. Armin stared at her, blue eyes wide with something like fear. 

 

“....what are you saying?” He murmured, but his shoulders were already starting to shake. 

 

“I’m so sorry, ‘Min. I didn’t want to leave you behind.” Eren put a hand on her shoulder as her voice choked up, giving up her composure and wiping frantically at her cheeks. 

 

Jean had reappeared in the room the moment he heard Armin sniffle, looking alarmed as he walked over and rubbed his back. He glanced at Eren, and the both of them stayed quiet. 

 

“Then - then w-who’s my father?” Armin murmured, looking more shell-shocked than anything. His grandparents had never said anything about his parents, so he’d assumed the worst, and it never bothered him. But now… that’s got to be a lot to take in. 

 

“Your father is -” she Looked up at Eren and he nodded, “ a friend of Levi’s. His name is Erwin, and he’s not... He’s not human.” Jean looked like he was about to fall over, but Armin didn’t look as surprised as he should have. 

 

“That explains a lot.” He murmured, looking down at his hands. “The affinity for water, the lack of needing to breathe underwater, the weird hearing… Why tell me all this now? You’ve left it eighteen years without a word.” 

 

“They wanted you to be a  _ normal _ kid!” She burst out. “I didn’t want to, I shouldn’t have left you behind, but eventually I thought they were right. Please understand that it was  _ never _ that I didn’t want you; it broke my heart.”

 

“But why now? After all that time?” 

 

That was where Hanji fell quiet, her posture straightening and a hand drifting to her midriff. “I was barely nineteen myself when you were born, and in the middle of getting my degree, and there was so much going on… I felt like I didn’t have much of a choice at all. Levi convinced me to come here a few days ago. I didn’t know, I had no idea at the time, but I’m carrying another child. I didn’t want you to go the rest of your life not knowing you had a real family. I know it’s selfish. And I know it’s so much to dump on you like this, but I felt like I had no other choice; knowing you were so close by…. It can’t of been a coincidence, between Levi and Eren meeting and knowing you, and living here of all places.” Her coffee lay untouched, so she picked up and held the warm mug to steady herself. 

 

Jean looked more shocked than Armin did, sputtering under his breath, but he had the sense to keep his questions to himself as the blonde stood up, walking around the table. He was shorter than the woman, almost an awkward distance, but nevertheless, she stood up as he approached. Eren stepped back, narrowly missing being hit by Armin as he threw his arms around his mother. He’d always been a softy; Eren didn’t know how he’d react if he’d been in the same situation, and he wandered over to Jean, who looked like he was going to pass out. 

 

“I’m glad you came to find me.” Armin murmured, and Hanji held him tight, face buried in his hair. 

 

“You look like your dad, but you definitely got your figure from me.” She joked wetly. 

 

“So are you all on crack or is this whole mermaid thing real?” Jean whispered, looking pale as he turned to Eren. 

 

“You remember when I damn near drowned? Levi brought me back in, and Armin found out rather abruptly that mermen were real because one was sitting on the beach with his arms around me and hissing. I’ve known for years.” Eren was rather aloof about the whole thing but had no real clue on how to explain it. Jean didn’t look like he believed it, but he didn’t ask any more questions. 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________-

  
  
  


“So, Levi was the one who told you to come?” Eren asked, feigning casualty. Hanji rolled her eyes, seeing right through him, but answered him nonetheless. 

 

“You’re not particularly subtle, are you?” She snorted. “Yes, Levi drilled some sense into me. I’ve been debating over it for years, really, but Levi… is a very convincing man. Merman. He found out I was pregnant, and to distract me from talking about you, told me that it wasn’t too late to be a mother, and he was right. He was very passionate about the whole thing. I think he mostly hated seeing me being so negative, even though he’s one of the most pessimistic creatures I’ve ever met.” She smiled fondly, and Eren’s heart throbbed underneath the shell resting on his chest. 

 

Hanji’s fixed her glasses and her gaze floated down to the shell, and Eren curled his hand around it protectively when she reached for it. “He gave you that one, didn’t he?” She asked, and Eren nodded warily. Even if he trusted her, there was something about the shell that made him want to fiercely protect it. “He misses you, you know.” The woman hummed, looking almost sly as she glanced away. “He’s been a bit miserable, lately, actually. Doesn’t know if you still remember him.” Eren lurched forward in surprise. 

 

“Of course I remember him! What an idiot.” He scowled crossly, and Hanji laughed at him. 

 

“He knows you’re safe, though. Doesn’t want to admit that he knows you still keep that thing with you. He imbued it with a bit of magic when he first gave it to you, but the connection has weakened now that he’s not around to renew it. Last season he was late, but he still came to the cove.” She studied him for a moment. “You weren’t there.” 

 

Eren looked away guiltily. “That was the week we were in the city. I couldn’t get out of  it; my sister filed a lawsuit against my father, and I had to go bear witness.” The brunet let out a sigh, twisting the shell between his fingers and drawing comfort from it. “I thought maybe he was the one that had forgotten about me, which is ridiculous, now that I think of it. Do you know he will next come here?” 

Hanji hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. I do know, however, that if I mention you, he’ll arrive a little faster. He’s got a bit of a thing for you.” She grinned cheerfully and Eren laughed.

 

“Is it wrong to have the hots for a fish?” He thought out loud, and he heard Armin snort behind him. 

 

“I’m pretty sure that technically, that makes you a scaly, but as long as The Shape Of Water doesn’t become your new favourite porno I think we’re good.” 

 

“Gross.” Eren wrinkled his nose, and he made room for Armin to sit down. It was silent for a moment before Eren stood up. “I’m... gonna go down to the cove. Before the sun sets. You know where to find me.” He waved to the both of them and headed inside to get his sketchbooks before leaving. 

  
  


He sat at the tree line, the cove laid out in front of him, and closed his eyes. In his mind he could see it better; the dark shape flickering under the veil of clear water, bursting into the sky with a lethal amount of power. His breath caught and he swallowed, letting out a long, slow breath before setting his pencil to paper. 

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is more a look into where Eren's at in life than a real chapter, but the second chapter will be full-length and uploaded sometime between now and next week. Now that exams are over and I'm getting my life back together, I'll try my best to set up a routine so you don't have to wait for months on updates, but please forgive me if I miss the deadline sometimes!


End file.
